A New York City Council employee was detained during a "routine" immigration appointment on Long Island on Monday, according to city officials, who called the incident an "egregious government overreach."

"DHS confirmed that this employee had gone in for a routine court appointment and was nevertheless detained. They provided no other basis for his detainment," [NYC Council Speaker] Menin said during a press briefing on Monday. "On the contrary, he was a city council employee who is doing everything right. He went to the court when he was asked."

The speaker said the employee has legal authorization to remain in the country [and work] until October.

I will try to go to Confession this week, but if, in my heart, I don't feel the intention to stop the sins, then I kind of don't want to go to Confession

What do we know?

Cause we do know it's certainly not red demons with horns and a tail, poking at people with a pitchfork in a fire, with Satan being the ruler of hell sitting on a throne somewhere in the place.

I see this is what media tries to imagine what hell is like, but I saw nothing like that in the Bible.

Hello. I am needing recommendations on a Jesus action figure for my 10-year-old son. He likes to role-play the Biblical stories. He would prefer a realistic looking Jesus. I did a search but I wasn't sure about the ones I seen.

God hardens hearts that He claims would otherwise believe. Is this total depravity?

Why does Satan, or the god of this age need to blind people who, according to reformed theology, already lack the capacity or desire to understand? Everybody starts out blind, right? So Satan blinds the blind in the hopes that he might what? BTW, I think God allowing Satan to do this is God judicially hardening them, it's just that sometimes that step is assumed in Scripture.

What truth are these unbelievers suppressing?

Romans 1:18-22 For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who suppress the truth in unrighteousness, because what may be known of God is manifest in them, for God has shown it to them. For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power and Godhead, so that they are without excuse, because, although they knew God, they did not glorify Him as God, nor were thankful, but became futile in their thoughts, and their foolish hearts were darkened. Professing to be wise, they became fools,

These are unbelievers who rejected the truth, right?

2 Thessalonians 2:10-12 and with all unrighteous deception among those who perish, because they did not receive the love of the truth, that they might be saved. And for this reason God will send them strong delusion, that they should believe the lie, that they all may be condemned who did not believe the truth but had pleasure in unrighteousness.

All have sinned and fallen short of the Glory of God Romans 3:23 would seem to be a justification statement. Romans 3:11-13 included (more later). What do you think about the statement that 'they all turned aside'? What did they turn aside from that made them that way, implying that they were not always like that?

Does one need to pass perfect righteous standards for a faith to be accepted by God as genuine? I offer the new believer as evidence. He needs to have the fear of God like a child in his formattable years to motivate him to obey God. It is only later in his faith, if his faith has been perfected, or matured, that he casts away all fear. In other words, he casts away all fear when he's all grown up spiritually and sees the love behind the commandments. He doesn't need to be motivated by fear of chastisement like a child. That doesn't sound like a mature, sinless motivated faith to me. Why does one need to have a five star faith for it to be acceptable, when the beginning of that same faith in sanctification is anything but. "Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest." It doesn't sound like the I love you with all my heart kind of faith, does it? The faith of a mustard seed. God drawing people, or to drag, pull, or persuade, doesn't sound like it's necessarily motivated by Holy Ghost goose bumps, does it?

Paul says something interesting in Romans 7:18

"For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh) nothing good dwells; for to will is present with me, but how to perform what is good I do not find.

Is the desire enough for the start of faith? It's the sick who need a doctor, right? I believe that the faith that Jesus Authors and Finishes is the one that starts when we are indwelt as a result of believing, from the Spirit. In other words, our pre-salvation faith is tainted with sin by holy standards, but also selfishly genuine and seeking the Doctor to be cured. Bottoming out in sin, if you will. Any "being perfected", or practically sanctified would be a result of the indwelling, which is the result of faith.

Isaiah 6:8-10 Also I heard the voice of the Lord, saying: "Whom shall I send, And who will go for Us?" Then I said, "Here am I! Send me." And He said, "Go, and tell this people: 'Keep on hearing, but do not understand; Keep on seeing, but do not perceive.' "Make the heart of this people dull, And their ears heavy, And shut their eyes; Lest they see with their eyes, And hear with their ears, And understand with their heart, And return and be healed."

What would have happened if God didn't judicially harden them so that they could still hear and see? Would they be able to believe? That seems to be what Isaiah is saying in 6:8-10. Rendered so that they could not see and hear, lest they believe, right? Are dead made more dead, etc., or is their being able to believe if not hardened a hypothetical?

Here's some more...

Romans 3:10-12 As it is written: "There is none righteous, no, not one; There is none who understands; There is none who seeks after God. They have all turned aside; They have together become unprofitable; There is none who does good, no, not one."

Paul is quoting Psalms, which sheds a little more light on the context. "They have all turned aside" begs the question, from what? Were they able to see before "they all turned aside"? The fact that God looks down upon the children of that time (He taught them all) to see if there were any who understand and who seek God would appear at a glance to answer that question. Psalm 53: says the same thing, but adds "They have together become corrupt". Interesting, that they "became corrupt". One could argue that sin needs to take it's course, and their comes a point in time, while being in a bad state, God, as judgment, puts the final nail in the coffin, lest they see, hear, and believe.

Psalm 14:2-4 The Lord looks down from heaven upon the children of men, To see if there are any who understand, who seek God. They have all turned aside, They have together become corrupt; There is none who does good, No, not one. Have all the workers of iniquity no knowledge, Who eat up my people as they eat bread, And do not call on the Lord?

Psalm 53:2-4 God looks down from heaven upon the children of men, To see if there are any who understand, who seek God. Every one of them has turned aside; They have together become corrupt; There is none who does good, No, not one. Have the workers of iniquity no knowledge, Who eat up my people as they eat bread, And do not call upon God?

Because... as John 6:65 is often quoted as a proof text. From that same context...

John 6:35, 45, 65 Everyone has been taught by God. All the children of Israel (Isaiah (54:13). Almost sounds universally, especially when we consider John 12:32, And I, if I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all peoples to Myself."

Even the Hardening on Israel was only partial. They can be grafted back in by God (Romans 11:20-25), if the do not continue in unbelief. Belief seems to dictate the grafting in, as unbelief seems to dictate the branches broken off. Total depravity isn't total according to this context as I see it. Am I wrong?

The Gentiles...

Romans 2:14-15 for when Gentiles, who do not have the law, by nature do the things in the law, these, although not having the law, are a law to themselves, who show the work of the law written in their hearts, their conscience also bearing witness, and between themselves their thoughts accusing or else excusing them)

Wait, what? The Law written on their hearts, accusing, excusing them? Hmm. Time to revisit total depravity, me thinks.

My conclusion is that Romans 3 is speaking of being able to do things that are considered good by the Law, by righteous standards. Without the Spirit of God, we cannot produce anything good by righteous standards. From the flesh, we cannot do anything good. And judicial hardening has it's place, but total unwillingness, or not having the ability to trust in Jesus is going beyond the text, in my opinion, which seems to be part of the definition of total depravity. All the Scripture used to support that idea of total depravity also, if we look at the context, allows for those same people to repent believe.

Randall Gamboa Esquivel had left Costa Rica in good health and crossed the United States-Mexico border in December 2024, according to his family. However, Gamboa was detained by the US authorities for re-entering American soil unlawfully, as he had previously lived there undocumented between 2002 and 2013.

Gamboa was initially held at the Webb county detention center in Laredo and then transferred to the Port Isabel detention center in Los Fresnos, both in south Texas. Nearly 10 months later, in September 2025, the Trump administration flew the 52-year-old to the Costa Rican capital of San José on an air ambulance.

He never came round and five weeks later Gamboa was pronounced dead at a hospital in Pérez Zeledón, his home town, around three hours south of the capital.

Medical records related to Gamboa’s time in US custody and shared with the Guardian show that there was a transfer request for him from the Port Isabel detention facility to Valley Baptist medical center in Harlingen, 28 miles (45km) east, on 23 June. [so after months of detention]

By 7 July, Gamboa had been diagnosed with at least 10 conditions, medical documents from the hospital show. Sepsis, a life-threatening reaction to an infection, is listed as his primary diagnosis, followed by rhabdomyolysis, a condition in which damaged muscle tissue breaks down rapidly.

Other conditions outlined in the records included protein malnutrition and toxic encephalopathy, caused by an infection or prolonged exposure to drugs, radiation or metals that ultimately alters brain function.

It is good if you can read the entire book of Galatians in order to get the full picture of what was going on here. But basically there was a group of Judaizers who were trying to convince the Gentile believers in Christ that they had to be circumcised as part of their salvation. And they were trying to get them, and perhaps some of the Jews, too, to participate in some of the Old Covenant liturgical, ceremonial, dietary, and Sabbath laws, as though this would make them better Christians, or something like that.

And so Paul spent probably most of the letter to the Galatians addressing this issue, and showing the new believers in Christ that under the New Covenant they were no longer under the Old Covenant liturgical and ceremonial laws. However, under grace, they were not free to live in disobedience to our Lord’s New Covenant commands, most of which were part of the original 10 commandments, which mostly were God’s moral laws, such as don’t steal, don’t cheat, don’t lie, and don’t commit adultery, et al.

Now the Lord wants me to address a situation we are in, at least here in the USA we are, where our political (Republicans, mostly, I believe) leaders are pushing to make Christianity our national religion. So, in a sense, they are like the Judaizers who are trying to force their religion on everyone else. But is that biblical? No! It isn’t! Nowhere in the Scriptures are we taught to force Christianity upon anyone. Are we to share the message of the gospel with the people of the world? Absolutely! But it is their choice to believe or not.

But I don’t believe this is really about trying to force everyone to be Christians, for not only is that not biblical, but it definitely feels like there is an ulterior motive behind it, especially since some (or many) who profess faith in Jesus Christ don’t actually live the Christian life from a biblical perspective. I sense that this is more about getting the people of the world to hate Christians, to bring on Christian persecution, and to get people angry and riled up and fighting others who, perhaps, are not their true enemies.

Should we have laws? Yes! There should be a definite right and wrong, which should be instilled in every human being. We should all know that stealing, cheating, murdering, lying, slandering, and committing adultery, etc., are not the right thing to do, and that traffic laws are for our safety. But forcing any particular religion on any particular group of people is just wrong. I would not want to be forced to bow to a foreign god and to have to obey their statutes and to follow after their religious and cultish practices.

And the United States of America, from the start, supposedly was based on freedom of religion, from what I recall. So, this is not about trying to make everyone a Christian, but this is about “upsetting the applecart,” i.e. to disrupt, to cause trouble, to upset people, to ruin people’s lives, to control, and I believe to get non-Christians to hate Christians and their “religion.” It is to get people to rebel, to fight for their rights, and to cause chaos, which is what they must do in order to bring us all under the “New World Order.”

So, as Christians, please know that this push in this direction is not for the good of anyone, especially not for us who believe in Jesus. And please know that Jesus never forced himself on anyone, and he did not try to get the Romans to make Christianity their national religion. And he did not teach the combining of world government with our faith. But he taught the opposite. He taught us that we are to come out from among the world, and not be partners with them, and he would receive us, and we would not be punished.

[Matthew 21:12-13; John 2:13-17; Acts 5:27-32; 1 Corinthians 1:10-13; 1 Corinthians 3:1-9; 2 Corinthians 6:14-18; Philippians 3:18-19; Revelation 2:1-29; Revelation 3:1-22; Revelation 13:5-8; Revelation 18:1-5]

And Jesus Christ taught that to come to him we must deny self, take up our cross daily (die daily to sin), and follow (obey) him. For if we hold on to living in sin and for self, we will lose our lives for eternity. But if we deny self, die daily to sin, by the Spirit, and we walk in obedience to our Lord and to his commands, in his power, then we have eternal life with God. For not everyone who calls him “Lord” will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one DOING (obeying) the will of God (see Luke 9:23-26; Matthew 7:21-23).

[Matthew 7:13-14,21-23; Luke 9:23-26; John 10:27-30; Acts 26:18; Romans 2:5-10; Romans 6:1-23; Romans 8:1-14; 1 Corinthians 10:1-22; Galatians 5:16-24; Ephesians 2:8-10; Ephesians 4:17-32; Ephesians 5:3-6; Titus 2:11-14; Hebrews 3:1-19; Hebrews 12:1-2; 1 Peter 2:24; 1 John 1:1-10; 1 John 2:3-6; 1 John 3:4-10; Revelation 2:1-29; Revelation 3:1-22]

So, follow what Jesus taught, and not what politicians say that they want.

For Our Nation

An Original Work / September 11, 2012
Christ’s Free Servant, Sue J Love
Recording Via Gerry Peters, music producer and arranger

Bombs are bursting. Night is falling.
Jesus Christ is gently calling
You to follow Him in all ways.
Trust Him with your life today.
Make Him your Lord and your Savior.
Turn from your sin. Follow Jesus.
He will forgive you of your sin;
Cleanse your heart, made new within.

Men betraying: Our trust fraying.
On our knees to God we’re praying,
Seeking God to give us answers
That are only found in Him.
God is sovereign over all things.
Nothing from His mind escaping.
He has all things under His command,
And will work all for good.

Jesus Christ is gently calling
You to follow Him in all ways.

Men deceiving: We’re believing
In our Lord, and interceding
For our nation and its people
To obey their God today.
He is our hope for our future.
For our wounds He offers suture.
He is all we need for this life.
Trust Him with your life today.

Login to view embedded media
Video Recording of the Above Writing:

Login to view embedded media
Christianity as America’s National Religion?
An Original Work / January 12, 2026
Christ’s Free Servant, Sue J Love

Today, Texas A&M resumes classes for the spring semester—but a number of canonized texts will not be welcomed back to school. The public research university has lately been caught in the crossfire between state and stupid.

As The Texas Tribune has reported, faculty in the College of Arts and Sciences were informed just last week that “a new system policy restricting classroom discussions of race and gender” is set to take effect today.

The policy, engineered and approved by the Texas A&M University Regents last November, requires that the school’s president sign off on every syllabus with an eye to scrubbing “problematic” content. But the foes were loosely framed.

Under the new restrictions, gender ideology is defined as “a concept of self-assessed gender identity replacing, and disconnected from, the biological category of sex.” Race ideology entails “attempts to shame a particular race or ethnicity” or anything that “promotes activism on issues related to race or ethnicity rather than academic instruction.”

As a European history professor pointed out at the time, this wording could effectively prohibit a professor from teaching about the Holocaust.

The regents used AI analysis software to audit syllabi for unapproved content. Thanks to this rude mech, 200 courses have been cancelled, stripped of core curricular credit value, or forced into revision.

The hammer came down over the weekend for assorted religion, film, ethnic studies, sociology, communications, and literature classes. And in a truly-beyond-parody move, a philosophy professor, Martin Peterson, was told to “either remove ‘modules on race and gender ideology'” from his course, or be reassigned to teach a different class entirely.

Most philosophy nerds will recognize the “gender ideology” readings in question, which are lifted from the Symposium. The university apparently quibbled with Plato’s reference the the “Myth of Androgyne,” in which Aristophanes describes three genders.

Most musical theatre nerds will also catch the reference—the same myth was called up in John Cameron Mitchell and Stephen Trask’s epic ballad, “The Origin of Love,” from Hedwig and the Angry Inch.

Even as we note the rise of smoothbrain rhetoric sea to sea, the fact that Plato has been deemed inappropriate for an Introduction to Philosophy course is a surreal escalation of terms.

God allowed rebellious Israel to be taken captive into Babylon for 70 years because they were whoring after false gods, which caused the Lord to hide his face from his people (Deu 31:16-18). Then after the Jews were set free from their captivity by Cyrus so they could return to Jerusalem to worship the Lord, the majority of Israel chose to stay in Babylon and Persia.

And Mordecai, who commanded Esther to keep her Jewish identity hidden (Est 2:10, 19-20), reveals that the Jews in Persia were being persecuted, and they were scorned if they mentioned the name of the Lord, which is implied in this story by the absence of God's name (Amos 6:8-10).


Although God's name is hidden, it is veiled within 4 acrostics in Esther, which reveals the Lord was working behind the scenes through Esther and the heart of the king to save Israel from Haman's evil plan to kill all the Jews.

For example:


In Proverbs 21:1, the scriptures reveal that God is able to cause the decisions that a king makes in his heart. And this is what the Lord did to the heart of King Ahasuerus through Queen Esther and her request to save her people.


I believe the absence of God's name in this account of Haman's plot to kill all the Jews is divinely intended to be a prophetic picture for the Antichrist's plan to kill all Israel in the tribulation, when he will exalt himself against every so-called god or object of worship and demand to be worshiped as God, or else you will be put to death for worshiping the Lord or mentioning God's name (2Th 2:3-4, Rev 13:15).


Because of Israel's great fear of persecution and death by the Antichrist when he proclaims to be God, the Jews will be afraid to mention God's name. While the tribulation saints who dare to confess Jesus is Lord will be put to death for their faith in Christ (Dan 7:23-25, Rev 6:9-11, 20:4).

In the following testimony by Ken Peters, he speaks about a prophetic dream of the tribulation that he had in 1980. Ken said that he was standing in a long line of people when persecutors began to grill the people by telling them to renounce their faith. They would never use the name Jesus, they would never use the name Jesus Christ, they would never use the name God, but they would say you should renounce your faith in him while you can still live and your faith is empty. It was a blasphemous kind of challenging against the people standing in line, and every so often somebody would crack.


Ken's prophetic dream is revealing that the absence of God's name in the book of Esther is prophetic for the Antichrist's censoring of the name of Jesus, the God of Israel, or any other false god during the tribulation (2 Th 2:4).

However, when Israel is surrounded by the nations and at the point of death, a faithful remnant will humble themselves and say, “Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord,” when Jesus who is the face of God will return to save his persecuted people from their enemies (Zec 12:9-10, John 14:9).


Jesus was quoting from Psalm 118, which is describing Israel's salvation and victory over all their enemies at the end of the tribulation, because they called on the name of the Lord by faith (Zec 13:8-9).




Queen Vashti who was lovely to look at but refused to obey the king's command, is a type for Satan, who was proud of his beauty and rebelled that was cast out of God's Kingdom (Eze 28:14-18, Isa 14:12-15). And just as Queen Vashti was replaced by another who is better (Est 1:19), that is Esther and the virgins, Satan and the demons will be replaced by a faithful remnant of Israel and the church.

Mordecai, who was second in rank to King Ahasuerus and spoke peace to all his people, is symbolic for Jesus, who will rule under the authority of his heavenly Father, bringing peace to all Israel. While King Ahasuerus represents the Father in Heaven.

• Esther 8:15 Then Mordecai (a type for Jesus) went out from the presence of the king (the Father)
  in royal robes of blue (which represents Jesus came from heaven above, Ex 24:10)
• and white (which represents righteousness, Isa 1:18),
• with a great golden crown (Jesus was crowned with thorns--our sins—when he became our Savior and King)
• and a robe of fine linen and purple (purple, which is the combination of blue and red, represents Jesus who came from the blue heavens above to shed his red blood on the cross for our sins so he could be clothed in purple, which is the garment of Kings, see Mark 15:17-18) and the city of Susa shouted and rejoiced.
• The high priest's colorful garment of blue, purple and scarlet yarn, which is symbolic for Jesus sacrifice on the cross when he became our Savior, King, and High Priest, is mentioned in Exodus 39:1-31.
• Exodus 39:1 From the blue and purple and scarlet yarns they made finely woven garments, for ministering in the Holy Place. They made the holy garments for Aaron (the high priest), as the LORD had commanded Moses.

Hegai who was in charge of beautifying the virgins with six months of oil of myrrh and six months of spices and ointments, before they could come before the presence of the king (Est 2:3, 12-15), is a type for the Holy Spirit who progressively sanctifies the saints (Rom 6:19, 1Th 4:3-4, 2Th 2:13, 2Peter 3:13-14) so they may become the beautiful bride of Christ (Rev 19:7-8).
Haman, who had 10 sons and plotted to kill all the Jews (Est 9:12), represents the Antichrist and 10 kings who will serve with him for one hour in the tribulation (Rev 17:12).
Mordecai and Esther were cousins. And when Esther's father and mother died, Mordecai took Esther as his own daughter.

At a first glance, Mordecai, who was a cousin of Esther and took her as his own daughter, seems to be an insignificant detail in this story. However, in scripture, the natural at times is meant to be a picture of the spiritual (1Cor 15:46).
Now this is difficult to explain but spiritually important to understand.

• Cousins are related through different parents who are also related.​
• Mary the mother of Jesus was a relative of Elizabeth (Luke 1:36), who was the mother of John the baptist. Therefore, Jesus and John the Baptist may have been cousins. ​
• John was born in sinful flesh as a descendant of the Aaronic priesthood (Luke 1:5). So John was qualified to be a high priest under the Old Covenant Law. And the high priest was considered to be the greatest in Israel since he interceded to God for the sins of the nation.​

G'day,
My first post and introduction here on this forum. I do not frequent too many boards outside of "Jeep enthusiasm" anymore but decided what better way to remain mentally active during the cold short days of Winter? My profile pretty much sums up my theological position and church attendance, but I am a member at a Conservative Lutheran Synod to save the click to my profile. I enjoy writing, have my own website and publish my thoughts on topics and subjects from time to time as a type of mental exercises. In these last years I'm learning more about the pious life, and whether synergism or monergism recognize that the pious life in application continues throughout a life long process of sanctification. That is, despite monergism, I must apply myself by the works of G-d in the process and life of holiness. I prefer the quiet peaceful life rather than activism today (whatever that means), preferring peace and quiet.

In case anybody is curious why I hyphen the L-rd or G-d etc., it is a reminder for me to not use the name of G-d in vain and to fear and adore "the name" (Hashem). I am educated in both "ancient" Hebraic and modern Hebrew (Sephardic) but far from a scholar. I am only second year learning and broke away from language studies despite being able to translate from that ancient language found on animal skins, cave walls, and clay pottery to modern Hebrew. Where I struggle is comprehension at this time though able to read and write in both forms, translation into the language of my native tongue requires extensive comprehension and inference in order to interpret in its final form (no direct translation often exists).

I live in Idaho but traveled throughout the states in my life during my time in military service and after relocating from Coast to Coast and everyplace in between. I tend to disengage quickly anymore from both political and religious "arguments" made by purple hair sleeve tats pig nosed pierced ringed advocates for their special interests but don't mind listening reasonable debate when based on solid premises, that is, when the premise G-d is the standard of morality and ethics is not overturned by what only sounds good (reason).
Hope everybody is having a blessed day,
Boom

Jan 12 (Reuters) - A proposed one-year cap on credit card interest rates backed by U.S. President Donald Trump could reduce borrowing costs for some consumers but also limit credit availability, pressure bank profits and reshape the economics of consumer lending.

Trump called for the cap on Friday, without detailing how the plan would be implemented, while Wall Street analysts said such a move would require legislation and has slim odds of getting clearance

How can this be defended? How can anyone watch this and think this is okay? This is normal? This is acceptable to keep us "safe"?

Both men were U.S. citizens and were released. One was a 17-year old kid who they dropped off at a Walmart 8 miles away after they verified he was a citizen, there is video of it that I can't post because of the language and the sensitive dispositions of this forum. Go look it up. It's heartbreaking. They were arrested because they were brown. Plain and simple.

This is outrageous. It is Dangerous. This is not going to end well for this country.

The Washington Post and others produced predictable false narratives.

Statement from Federal Reserve Chair Jerome H. Powell​

I have deep respect for the rule of law and for accountability in our democracy. No one—certainly not the chair of the Federal Reserve—is above the law. But this unprecedented action should be seen in the broader context of the administration's threats and ongoing pressure.

This new threat [of indictment] is not about my testimony last June or about the renovation of the Federal Reserve buildings. Those are pretexts. The threat of criminal charges is a consequence of the Federal Reserve setting interest rates based on our best assessment of what will serve the public, rather than following the preferences of the President.

I have served at the Federal Reserve under four administrations, Republicans and Democrats alike. In every case, I have carried out my duties without political fear or favor, focused solely on our mandate of price stability and maximum employment. Public service sometimes requires standing firm in the face of threats. I will continue to do the job the Senate confirmed me to do, with integrity and a commitment to serving the American people.

That first sentence says it all! The whole purpose of Jesus Christ dying on that cross, and being raised from the dead, was to rescue us from this present evil age so that we are no longer partakers in this present evil age. So, he didn’t die just to forgive us our sins and to give us the hope of eternal life with God. But he died to put our sins to death with him on that cross so that, by God-persuaded and God-gifted faith in him, we will now die to sin and live for God in walks of obedience to our Lord and to his commands.

[Matthew 7:13-14,21-23; Luke 9:23-26; John 10:27-30; Acts 26:18; Romans 1:18-32; Romans 2:5-10; Romans 3:23; Romans 6:1-23; Romans 8:1-14; Romans 12:1-2; 1 Corinthians 6:9-10,19-20; 1 Corinthians 10:1-22; 2 Corinthians 5:10,15,21; Galatians 5:16-24; Ephesians 2:8-10; Ephesians 4:17-32; Ephesians 5:3-6; Titus 2:11-14; Hebrews 3:1-19; Hebrews 4:1-13; Hebrews 10:19-39; Hebrews 12:1-2; 1 Peter 2:24; 1 John 1:1-10; 1 John 2:3-6; 1 John 3:4-10; Revelation 2:1-29; Revelation 3:1-22]

For Jesus Christ taught that to come to him we must deny self, take up our cross daily (die daily to sin), and follow (obey) him. For if we hold on to living in sin and for self, we will lose our lives for eternity. But if we deny self, die daily to sin, by the Spirit, and we walk in obedience to our Lord and to his commands, in his power, then we have eternal life with God. For not everyone who calls him “Lord” will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one DOING (obeying) the will of God (see Luke 9:23-26; Matthew 7:21-23).

And the “different gospel” that Paul was referring to was not just that they had Judaizers who were trying to convince them that they had to live under some of the Old Covenant liturgical, ceremonial, circumcision, dietary, and Sabbath laws. But some were being convinced that their freedom from “The Law” meant they could now live however they wanted, in sin, in immorality, sensuality, idolatry, and drunkenness, etc. So Paul said that if they practiced such things, they would NOT inherit the kingdom of God (Galatians 5:1-26).

Therefore, freedom from “The Law” (Old Covenant) is not freedom to sin as much as you want. For by God-gifted faith in Jesus Christ, which is not of our own doing, we are crucified with Christ in death to sin and raised with Christ to walk in newness of life in him, no longer to live as slaves to sin but as slaves to righteousness in walks of obedience to God’s commands. For if we obey sin, it results in death. But if we obey obedience to God, it results in sanctification, and its end is eternal life with God (see Romans 6:1-23).

And there is a minority of professing Christians today who are being convinced still by the Judaizers that they need to be more like Jews and that it will enhance their relationship with Jesus Christ. False!! But the biggest issue, and the most critical issue of our time, is that so many professing Christians are believing in a half-truth false and altered “gospel” which is contrary to the Scriptures and which does not demand that we deny self, die to sin daily, and follow our Lord in walks of obedience to his commands.


So, please study the Scriptures in their correct biblical context, and do not rely on other humans, no matter who they are, that they are going to tell you the truth. For even some of the most popular and notable and well respected preachers of The Word have turned out to be liars, deceivers, adulterers, and manipulators. And some of them who have not yet been found out are doing the same. For many are preaching a false gospel and are leading many to hell, but on the promise of heaven when they die.

Walking in The Light

Based off 1 John 1-2
An Original Work / November 16, 2011
Christ’s Free Servant, Sue J Love

When I lift up my voice, and
Sing praise unto God,
I will fellowship with my
Lord and Savior, King.
In Him there is no darkness.
He is in the light of truth.
If we walk in His light,
From sin He purifies.

If we repent of our sins,
He’ll forgive us now,
When we humble ourselves, and
Before Jesus bow.
The man who says, “I know Him,”
But does not obey His truth,
There is no truth in him.
In darkness still he’s found.

Do not love the world of sin,
For it is hell bound.
If you follow the world, you’ll
Not in Christ be found.
The world and its desires
Will not last; they’ll expire.
The one who does God’s will,
Receives eternal life.

See that what you have heard from
Christ remains in you.
Then, you’ll remain in Christ, and
In His Father, too.
This is what He promised us –
His eternal life with God.
So, continue in Him, and
You’ll receive a crown.

Login to view embedded media
Rescued from Slavery to Sin
An Original Work / January 12, 2026
Christ’s Free Servant, Sue J Love

Hi all,

I am currently part of a non-denominational church, and want to speak to someone about the orthodox church, but getting very confused about the different branches? Is this what they're called?

I don't know the difference between Eastern, Russian and Greek orthodox and I'm not sure if there are more?

I have a few churches near me, so wanted to reach out to the elders(?) there for a discussion, but wanted to make sure I came to them with some basic knowledge?

Edited to add that there is apparently a Syrian Orthodox!!!

Feel a bit overwhelmed and a little embarrassed so assistance would be appreciated if you're able, many thanks, CC

Amen! And not all people are bad. Not all people are evil. Not all people are shifty, deceptive, and conniving. But many are. And sadly this includes many who profess faith in Jesus Christ, including pastors and elders of “churches.” And why do I put “churches” in quotation marks? Because not all that is called “church” is the true biblical body of believers in Jesus Christ gathering for the sole purpose of encouraging one another in our walks of faith in obedience to our Lord. But many are just businesses of human making.

And, in fact, we live in a day of massive deception where anything can be and is being photoshopped, altered, AI generated, and doctored to make it look real, but while it is fake or partially fake, deceptive, conniving, and intended to fool people into believing the lies and not the truth. And this is happening in these institutional market-driven churches which are intended to attract the world to their gatherings, as well as this is happening in our governments and among our national leaders who are corrupt deceivers.

And, again, I am not saying that all of them are corrupt liars and deceivers who are out to fool the people and to take them captive to their lies. But many of them are, even ones who are highly regarded among the people because they give an outward appearance of all goodness. And the Bible warns us against such people. And that is why we are taught in the Scriptures to not be easily taken in by those who are charming and who seem to be on our side. But we must prayerfully test them all.

[Matthew 7:15-23; Matthew 24:11-24; Luke 6:26; John 10:1-15; Romans 16:17-19; 2 Corinthians 11:3,13-15; Ephesians 4:11-16; Philippians 3:2; 2 Peter 2:1-22; 1 Thessalonians 5:19-22; 1 Timothy 1:3-7; 1 Timothy 6:3-10; 2 Timothy 3:1-9; 1 John 4:1-6; Jude 1:1-25]

We need to not be gullible and trusting people who believe everyone or most everything we hear, read, or think we see, for there is so much deception out there! But we need, as Christians, to be prayer warriors, who pray through all our circumstances, and who ask the Lord for guidance and direction, and who do research, and who study the Scriptures for ourselves in the appropriate biblical context, and who seek the Lord for truth and who do not automatically put our trust in other humans who may lie to us.

And this definitely applies with regard to the medical profession, too. For so many people who call themselves physicians, who are to care for the needs of the people, are people who are beholding to the government and to their affiliations and to getting people put on drugs, and they don’t really have the best interest of their patients in mind. And this is not all of them! But it does appear sometimes to be the majority of them. So test everything you are told, and check side effects before you agree to take medications. Be safe!

I just know that I have been taken advantage of many times in my life because I believed other humans, and I did what they said, and then it ended in disaster. I believed what they taught me, that it was truth, but so much of it turned out to be lies, but not all of it. So this is why the Scriptures (Old Testament and New Testament) teach us to not put our trust in other humans, and to test everyone and what they say, and to be followers of God, and not of man, for humans will fail us, sometimes deliberately.

So, when you don’t know what to do, pray! When you don’t know who to believe, pray, do your homework, do the research, test the spirits, study the Scriptures in context, and rely on God for the wisdom and understanding that you need to go the right direction. For not everything is obviously black or white, evil or good. But some of it just requires that we are diligent in making sure that what we are hearing or believing or trusting in is actually the truth and not the lies of those who deliberately seek to deceive.

And when it comes to the gospel message, please study the Scriptures in their correct biblical context, and please do not rely on other humans to tell you the truth, for liars and deceivers abound!!

For Jesus Christ taught that to come to him we must deny self, take up our cross daily (die daily to sin), and follow (obey) him. For if we hold on to living in sin and for self, we will lose our lives for eternity. But if we deny self, die daily to sin, by the Spirit, and we walk in obedience to our Lord and to his commands, in his power, then we have eternal life with God. For not everyone who calls him “Lord” will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one DOING (obeying) the will of God (see Luke 9:23-26; Matthew 7:21-23).

[Matthew 7:13-14,21-23; Luke 9:23-26; John 10:27-30; Acts 26:18; Romans 1:18-32; Romans 2:5-10; Romans 3:23; Romans 6:1-23; Romans 8:1-14; Romans 12:1-2; 1 Corinthians 6:9-10,19-20; 1 Corinthians 10:1-22; 2 Corinthians 5:10,15,21; Galatians 5:16-24; Ephesians 2:8-10; Ephesians 4:17-32; Ephesians 5:3-6; Titus 2:11-14; Hebrews 3:1-19; Hebrews 4:1-13; Hebrews 10:19-39; Hebrews 12:1-2; 1 Peter 2:24; 1 John 1:1-10; 1 John 2:3-6; 1 John 3:4-10; Revelation 2:1-29; Revelation 3:1-22]

For Our Nation

An Original Work / September 11, 2012
Christ’s Free Servant, Sue J Love
Recording Via Gerry Peters, music producer and arranger

Bombs are bursting. Night is falling.
Jesus Christ is gently calling
You to follow Him in all ways.
Trust Him with your life today.
Make Him your Lord and your Savior.
Turn from your sin. Follow Jesus.
He will forgive you of your sin;
Cleanse your heart, made new within.

Men betraying: Our trust fraying.
On our knees to God we’re praying,
Seeking God to give us answers
That are only found in Him.
God is sovereign over all things.
Nothing from His mind escaping.
He has all things under His command,
And will work all for good.

Jesus Christ is gently calling
You to follow Him in all ways.

Men deceiving: We’re believing
In our Lord, and interceding
For our nation and its people
To obey their God today.
He is our hope for our future.
For our wounds He offers suture.
He is all we need for this life.
Trust Him with your life today.

Login to view embedded media
Fake, Deceptive, Conniving
An Original Work / January 11, 2026
Christ’s Free Servant, Sue J Love

With all the violence on the street now with political protests. With surveys showing more than a third of Dems willing to use violence to stop a political oponent. The rhetoric from the Right that people are commiting acts of terror while others call it legal protests.

The rhetoric is racheting up, the violence is ratching up. What will the future look like. Is this trend going to continue and we will see massive rioting like in Europe or with BLM type of rioting that destroys everything and kills people in their wake.

Does this lead to the National guard and miliary coming out in response to such a revolution.

I have read some time ago that political experts were predicting that the US had all the signs of a crisis brewing similar to Northern Ireland. Is this the case.

With the anniversary of Auschwitz having just past and the stories of the sins committed by the Germans and seeing America starting down that same path, I cannot help but wonder where the divide between salvation and damnation was and is. The spectrum is between those actively committing the sins , those supporting the actions, those knowing of the actions but remaining silent , those with a clue but working hard to ignore the sins they know in there hearts their government is committing thru those pointing out the wrongs to those actively and dangerously working to stop the sins. At some point in a nation becoming completely sinful there must be a collective guilt? We know Jesus instructed us to be aware of the suffering of others.

Please pray that if it is God's will He will let me hear my son Jakeb's laughter and fill him with joy this evening. I ask in the name of Jesus. Thank you and God bless you.

Shalom

"I have appointed you to bear fruit that will last," says the Lord Jesus in John 15:16-17.

Could you please pray for me that God grants me the wisdom to lead people to Jesus Christ and to help them follow Him in Jesus' name. Amen.

May the Lord bless you abundantly (Luke 6:38, Job 42:10) and may He bless Israel in Jesus' name. Amen!

To God alone be the glory.

Never mind